Passenger Killed, Driver Arrested In Suspected DUI Crash In San Jose

SAN JOSE (KCBS) — A car crash that killed one person in San Jose early Monday morning occurred shortly after the car’s two occupants allegedly stole beer from a 7-Eleven store about a mile away, police said.

The crash was reported at 2:01 a.m. in the area of Hillsdale and Pearl avenues, near state Highway 87, police said.

1 Killed In San Jose Crash

The driver, whose identity is still being determined, had been headed south on Pearl in a gray-colored Toyota Avalon at a high rate of speed, police said.

He apparently tried to turn onto Hillsdale but lost control and crashed into a parked car, causing a chain reaction that involved a total of five parked cars, police said.

A man who was riding in the Toyota as a passenger was pinned inside the vehicle, and personnel from the San Jose Fire Department had to extract him, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

Investigators believe alcohol was a factor in the accident and plan to arrest the driver for misdemeanor and felony DUI, as well as vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, police said.

Prior to the crash, the driver and passenger had allegedly taken some beer from a 7-Eleven store at Branham Lane and Pearl Avenue and left without paying for it, police said.

The passenger’s name is being withheld until his family has been notified of his death, police said.

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